Questionnaires: representation and analysis

Questionnaires were of three kinds but differed slightly, mostly in wording, to accommodate the different occupations of the respondents, e.g. the wording on the questionnaire for students: ‘The career field in which you are currently studying…?’ was changed for lecturers to ‘The career field in which you are currently working...?’

There was a questionnaire for STEM lecturers, completed by four (4) lecturers from both universities and a questionnaire for STEM students, completed by one hundred (100) students from both universities. The questionnaire for administrators, completed by one (1) administrator, had certain questions that were meant only for them, based on the work they do, which is completely different from that of lecturers or the role of students, e.g. ‘What is the average percentage of young female students who registered to study careers in the STEM fields in the last three years, including 2017?’, i.e. 2015 to 2017.

5.3.1.1 Biographical information: Section A

The first section of all questionnaires, i.e. Section A, consisted of biographical information that required the basic profile of respondents. As indicated in chapter three, this study included both male and female students for the completion of the students’ questionnaire. It was important, especially for the outcome of this study, since young men have mothers, sisters, female friends, etc. As for lecturers and the administrator, they were both male and female. This assisted me in getting opinions from both genders. Raising awareness in society and communities on any subject is better done if it is inclusive of persons of different genders, races, classes, etc. The awareness programme that has been developed in chapter six is meant for people from all sectors who also need to pass the message on to the beneficiaries, i.e. young women, who might have missed it.

SECTION A: Biographical Information

Table 3: Gender (students)

Male 57

Female 43

Other 0

Total respondents 100

Table 4: Age (students)

18 – 20 46

21 – 25 54

26 – 35 06

Total respondents 100

The questionnaires had questions that were also grouped according to different themes. The first category of questions was divided into four themes in Sections B, C, D and E. Each theme was presented as a sub-heading for a section, followed by related questions in a table. Here the respondents were given a scale of five items to choose from: Strongly agree (SA); Agree (A); Not sure (NS); Disagree (D); and Strongly disagree (SD). The respondents were requested to answer by marking the appropriate number in the box with an ‘X’, which would also indicate the extent to which they agreed/disagreed with each statement. The above scale was used for the second (Section B) to the fourth (Section E) categories of questions. The last category of questions (Section F) consisted of open-ended questions. In this case, the respondents were provided with enough space to respond through explanations and descriptions in each question. There was also a space provided for respondents to write any proposals and inputs towards the improvement of young women’s participation in the STEM fields.

5.3.1.2 Youth development: Section B

The aim of this section was to determine whether young people understand the concept of youth development and what it entails. They should be aware that, based on their choices, young men have more chances for development than young women

despite the prescripts of the Constitution (1996) and other related legislation. More importantly, young women should see the need for economic empowerment as a prerequisite for social transformation, towards fulfilment of their youthful holistic/sustainable development. The graph suggests that most young people are aware of these factors, young women included. Therefore, the choice of careers of young women, away from the STEM fields, is perpetuated by other factors, which are further discussed as this chapter unfolds.

Table 5: Youth development Item

no.

Questions N Mean Std.

deviation

1. Socioeconomic empowerment is a prerequisite of holistic/sustainable youth development

99 2,29 0,92

2. South Africa, like the rest of the world, is experiencing socioeconomic challenges because of climate change and the security of food supply, affecting the development of young people in general

102 2,10 1,08

3. Girls and boys, young women and young men, are equally developed through relevant programmes in South Africa

97 2,95 1,09

4. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act 106 of 1996 promotes youth development and protects the rights of young people by all means

96 2,57 0,98

Table 5 indicates the degree to which the impact of socioeconomic challenges on youth development is understood by participants. The above questions link to the objective: ‘To enable young women, programming, to choose careers in the STEM fields in South African universities, as an inspiration for their sustainable/holistic youth development’.

On the question of whether socioeconomic empowerment was a prerequisite of ‘Holistic/Sustainable Youth Development’, out of 99 respondents, the mean value and standard deviation were 2,29 and 0,92. That indicated that there was a fair understanding that in order for young people to be holistically developed, they should have been economically empowered and were leading sustainable social lives. The responses to the question, ‘South Africa, like the rest of the world is experiencing socioeconomic challenges because of climate change and security of food shortage, affecting the development of young people in general’, had 102 responses, with the mean value of 2,10 and standard deviation of 1.08. That meant that there was a strong belief that South Africa was indeed experiencing socioeconomic challenges that affected the development of young people negatively.

For the question on whether girls and boys, young women and young men were equally developed through relevant programmes in South Africa, the score was 97 respondents, with the mean value of 2,95 and 1,09 standard deviation. There, a higher number of respondents were not sure, followed by those who disagreed. That served as a need for advocacy, to raise awareness of the gap in the development of girls and young women, in the STEM fields, as per the findings of this study. The results of the last question under this category were, 96 respondents, mean value 2,57 and standard deviation 0,98. More respondents were not sure if the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act 106 of 1996 promoted youth development and protected the rights of young people by all means. Close to that, there was uncertainty from a number of them, creating the impression that young people needed to understand the legislation that protects their rights and be able to identify gaps and/or strengths, in order for implementation to be smooth and programming to kick-off from a strong base. However, the overall result of this section was based on the fact that young people were aware of the need for their socioeconomic empowerment, which served as a prerequisite for holistic youth development.

Figure 2: SECTION B: Youth Development

5.3.1.3 Economic empowerment and social transformation: Section C

In this case, young people had to be aware that they could never be socially transformed if they were not economically empowered. Therefore, their desire and need for sustainable lives and holistic youth development starts with socioeconomic empowerment. That applied to both young men and young women independently. Young women, as employees, sisters or wives cannot rely on young men to realise that. Research proved that young men were already aware of the skills that were mostly critical to the economic market of the country; hence they were participating in large numbers in the STEM. If all young people were aware of such critical and scarce skills, one might ask why young women were still flooding the social sciences and avoiding the STEM fields where they were most needed. This graph indicated that young people in general were aware of those societal needs, which suggested that their career choices were influenced by other factors besides the requirements of the economic market.

Table 6: Economic empowerment and social transformation Item

no.

Questions N Mean Std.

deviation

5. Young women have more socioeconomic challenges than their male counterparts

102 2,31 1,08

6. Young men are more actively involved in the economy of the country than young women

100 2,54 1,12

7. Most young students at universities are aware of the skills that are said to be scarce and yet critical of improving the economy of South Africa

101 2,73 1,03

8. Economic empowerment is a requirement for social transformation

102 2,08 0,90

Table 6 presents the degree to which participants understand the need for economic empowerment as a means to social transformation. The questions in this table link to the objective, ‘To pursue young women to balance the acquisition of skills in the STEM and social science fields, for their socioeconomic empowerment’.

To the question whether young women have more socioeconomic challenges than their male counterparts, the respondents were 102, mean value was 2,31 and standard deviation 1,08. In this case, most of the respondents (mostly females) agreed with the statement, followed by those who were not sure (mostly males). The implication was that young men may not be aware of the challenges with which young women are faced and therefore develop separately and differently. This also suggested, not necessarily the uniqueness of each gender, but the gender disparity within the youth community that is expected to live together as married couples, colleagues, friends, siblings etc., which may not be corrected if not addressed. Awareness on the need for young women to cascade the STEM fields therefore, needed to be raised among all members of society, within and around universities.

The results of the question, ‘Young men are more actively involved in the economy of the country than young women’ were 100, mean 2,54 and standard deviation 1,12,

with most respondents in agreement. The same sentiment as the above question applied. With the question on, ‘Most young students at universities are aware of the skills that are said to be scarce and yet critical for improving the economy of South Africa’, there were 102 responses, with a mean value of 2,73 and 1,03 standard deviation. The indication there was that there was uncertainty regarding the question, adding value to the reason for the choice of careers of young women, away from the STEM fields.

The relationship between economic empowerment and social transformation was endorsed through the results in the question, ‘Economic empowerment is a requirement for social transformation’, with 102 respondents; 2,08 mean value and 0,90 standard deviation. This created the impression that social transformation would not be acquired without economic empowerment. With this baseline, the awareness programme developed as a result of this study, was expected to succeed in identifying the ways in which young women could be economically empowered. That, included their increased participation in the STEM fields, in order for them to realise social transformation and live sustainable lives. The overall results of this section prepared the ground for identified activities that were meant to improve young women’s taking up careers in the fields that were said to be critical for the economic growth of the country, the fields in which young men were already participating in large numbers, i.e. the STEM fields.

Figure 3: SECTION C: Economic Empowerment and Social Transformation

5.3.1.4 Career choice: Section D

This section wanted to establish the source of young women’s choice of career since most of them were choosing careers in the health, education and welfare fields, where skills were already oversupplied, and seemed to disregarding the STEM fields where there was a shortage of young women’s talent. As a result, many completed their degrees in such fields but were unable to find employment since the market was flooded. Because the graph shows that participants were aware of the benefits that the STEM fields had for young women, the main question that needed to be answered in this chapter was whether young women were afraid of being culturally ostracised or that their socialisation had an influenced in their choice of careers.

Table 7: Career choices Item

no.

Questions N Mean Std.

deviation

9. Research shows that the STEM fields are dominated by men. Therefore, STEM fields are meant for men, not for women

101 3,12 1,19

10. There are better career opportunities in the STEM fields than in the social sector

102 2,52 0,89

11. There are no women role-models in the STEM fields who can serve as mentors to young women in South Africa

102 3,17 0,93

12. Considering the number of young women who are graduates but currently unemployed, South Africa is experiencing an oversupply of jobs in certain fields and an undersupply in other fields

103 2,39 1,18

In Table 7 the degree to which the future of young people is influenced by career choice is displayed. The questions in this table link to the objective: ‘To pursue young women to balance the acquisition of skills in the STEM and social science fields, for their socioeconomic empowerment’.

For the question: ‘Research shows that the STEM fields are dominated by men. Therefore, STEM fields are meant for men, not for women’, the results were: 101 responses, 3,12 mean value and 1,19 standard deviation. The implication there was that there was a great deal of uncertainty about the question. The responses in the next question, ‘There are better career opportunities in the STEM fields than in the social sector’, were also basically neutral, with the outcome of 102 responses, mean value of 2,52 and standard value weighing 0,89.

In the next two questions, the results were very close to those in question 9, with 102 and 103 responses, mean values of 3,17 and 2,39 as well as the standard deviations of 0,93 and 1,18 respectively. These questions were: ‘There are no women role-

models in the STEM fields who can serve as mentors to young women in South Africa’; ‘Considering the number of young women who are graduates but currently unemployed, South Africa is experiencing an oversupply of jobs in certain fields and an undersupply in the other fields’.

The implication of those questions was that the respondents were not sure if there were role models for young women in the STEM fields in South Africa and also that the high rate of unemployment of young women could be as a result of an oversupply of some skills and an undersupply of others in different fields. That created the impression that young people in general and young women in particular, choose careers without having done any research of what the needs of the market were, to ensure that they get employed beyond their studies.

Figure 4: SECTION D: Career Choice

5.3.1.5 University education: Section E

What this section wanted to achieve was to establish whether universities were encouraging and enabling young women to participate in large numbers in the STEM fields where their numbers were significantly lower than those of their male counterparts. There was a need for young women to be made aware through programming and actually be supported, in order to turn around their situation in the

STEM fields at universities where their roll was already high (Department of Women, 2015:43). A higher number of student participants agreed that, indeed universities had a greater role to play in improving the participation of young women in the STEM fields. What they were not sure of, however, was the kind of support that universities could provide for young women to channel their interest and motivation towards taking up the STEM fields as careers, since they were already registering in larger numbers than young men at these institutions. That proved that young women therefore, needed to be assisted in identifying their needs in line with the career choices in the STEM fields.

Table 8: University education Item

no.

Questions N Mean Std.

deviation

13. Your university has a role to play in improving the participation of young women in the STEM fields

101 2,15 0,93

14. Research shows that the role of young women at universities in general is higher than that of young men and that the number of young women is significantly low in the STEM fields because most of them register to study in the social fields

102 2,62 0,91

15. Tertiary education is a key factor in a nation‘s effort to develop a highly skilled workforce for competing in the global economy

103 1,93 1,01

16. The ‘First-time student’ programme of your university informs newcomers of the types of career opportunities offered in all the fields taught at this institution

103 2,32 1,24

17. The career field in which you are studying now at your university was your first career choice

Table 8 presents the degree to which universities encourage enrolment across different fields.

These questions are linked to the third objective, ‘To enable young women through programming, to choose careers in the STEM fields in South African universities, as an inspiration for their sustainable/holistic youth development’. The question ‘Your university has a role to play in improving the participation of young women in the STEM fields’ had these results: 101 responses, mean value of 2,15 and standard deviation of 0,93. There, the impression was that there was a general agreement to the question. The results of the next one, ‘Research shows that the roll of young women at universities in general is higher than that of young men and that the number of young women is significantly low in the STEM fields because most of them register to study in the social fields’, were out of 102 responses, with a mean value of 2,62 and a standard deviation of 0,91. The respondents in this case were generally not sure, showing a need for raising awareness regarding the uneven distribution of young women among different career fields, leaving the STEM as the most deserted.

‘Tertiary education is a key factor in a nation‘s effort to develop a highly skilled workforce for competing in the global economy’, was the statement with which the respondents strongly agreed: 103 respondents, with the mean value of 1,93 and standard deviation of 1,01. These results endorsed the sample of this research and also provided a green light to the outcome of this study, i.e. an awareness programme to be implemented through universities. On the next question, ‘The First-time student’ programme of your university informs newcomers of the types of career opportunities offered in all the fields taught at this institution’, an emphasis of the previous one was reflected in the results, also exceeding the average and strongly agreeing that when students set their feet for the first time at universities, they are indeed provided with information on the fields that are offered. The respondents were 103, the mean value 2,32 and standard deviation 1,24. This question suggested that there was a gap in the programmes in which first-year students participate at universities, since they seem not to be appealing to young women to join the STEM fields, where their numbers are